A map showing the Maida Vale ward of Paddington Metropolitan Borough as it appeared in 1916.
The area is bounded by Maida Avenue and the Regent's Canal to the south, Maida Vale Road to the north-east, Kilburn Park Road to the north-west, and Shirland Road and Blomfield Road to the south-west: an area of around 1 square kilometre (0.4 square miles). It makes up most of the W9 postal district.
The area to the south-west of Maida Vale, at the western end of Elgin Avenue, where it meets Harrow Road, was historically known as "Maida Hill", as a recognised postal district bounded by the Avenues on the west, the Regent's Canal to the south, Maida Vale to the east and Kilburn Lane to the north. Parts of Maida Vale were also included in this.[9] The name "Maida Hill" had fallen out of use, but was resurrected since the mid-2000s by way of the 414 bus route (which from 2005 to 2021 gave its destination as Maida Hill and terminated on Shirland Road),[10][11] and a new street market on the square at the junction of Elgin Avenue and Harrow Road.[12]
In 1742, a lease for future development was signed by Sir John Frederick. His daughter later married Robert Thistlethwaite, a Hampshire landowner, whose Hampshire holdings including Widley and Wymering are commemorated in Maida Vale street names.[13]
In 1816, an Act of Parliament allowed the trustees of Sir John Frederick's estate and the Bishop of London to begin developing the area. This began in the 1820s with development along Edgware Road. The area was first named on maps as Maida Vale in 1827.[13] John Gutch, surveyor to the Bishop of London, produced a plan for the area in 1827, which roughly corresponds to current road alignments.[13]
By 1868, a stretch of Edgware Road near the area had been officially named Maida Vale.[13] In 1960, the ownership of the area's freehold passed from the Bishop of London to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, whose function was to administer the church's assets.[13]
Maida Vale is home to some of BBC network radio's recording and broadcast studios. The building on Delaware Road is one of the BBC's earliest premises, pre-dating Broadcasting House, and was the centre of the BBC radio news service during World War II. The building houses seven music and radio drama studios. Most famously it was home to John Peel's BBC Radio 1Peel Sessions and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
In 2018 the BBC announced plans to close the Maida Vale studios and relocate its functions to East London.[15]
Little Venice is a comparatively recent name for parts of Maida Vale and Paddington in the City of Westminster. It consists of the area surrounding the Little Venice basin and its canals. It is known for its Regency style white stucco buildings and its canals and moored boats. The name Little Venice is applied to Maida Avenue, Warwick Crescent and Blomfield Road, and the streets in the south of Maida Vale overlooking Browning's Pool, including the section of Randolph Avenue south of Warrington Crescent.[16]
According to one story, the poet Robert Browning, who lived in the area from 1862 to 1887, coined the name.[17] However, this was disputed by Lord Kinross in 1966[18] and by London Canals.[19] Both assert that Lord Byron (1788–1824) humorously coined the name, which now applies more loosely to a longer reach of the canal system. Browning's Pool is named after the poet. It forms the junction of Regent's Canal and the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal.
The Carlton Tavern (1921) is an example of 1920s architecture. The pub was demolished in 2015 but subsequently rebuilt following a community campaign and planning appeals.
Maida Vale is noted for wide tree-lined avenues, large communal gardens and red-brick mansion blocks from the late Victorian and Edwardian eras. The first mansion blocks were completed in 1897, with the arrival of the identically designed Lauderdale Mansions South, Lauderdale Mansions West and Lauderdale Mansions East in Lauderdale Road. Others followed in neighbouring streets: Elgin Mansions (Elgin Avenue) and Leith Mansions (Grantully Road) in 1900, Ashworth Mansions (Elgin Avenue and Grantully Road) and Castellain Mansions (Castellain Road) in 1902, Elgin Court (Elgin Avenue) and Carlton Mansions (Randolph Avenue) in 1902, Delaware Mansions (Delaware Road) and Biddulph Mansions (Elgin Avenue and Biddulph Road) in 1907[13] and Randolph Court in 1910.[22]
Among the buildings of architectural interest is the Carlton Tavern, a pub on Carlton Vale. Built in 1920–1921 for Charrington Brewery, it is thought to be the work of the architect Frank J. Potter and is noted for its 1920s interiors and faience tiled exterior. The building was being considered by Historic England for Grade II listing when it was unexpectedly demolished in March 2015 by the property developer CLTX Ltd to make way for a block of flats.[23] The pub was subsequently rebuilt and re-opened following a community campaign and planning appeals.[24]
Demography
Maida Vale has a namesake electoral ward and in the 2022 local election returned three Labour councillors for Westminster City Council. The 2011 census counted a population of 10,210 in the ward. Ethnicity-wise, 62.4% of the population were White (38% British, 3% Irish, 22% Other), 11.7% were Asian, and 7.1% were Black. Maida Vale also had a large Arab community, who formed 9.2% of the population, and by far the most spoken foreign language was Arabic. Of the 4,480 households, the number of homes owned or privately rented were about even, with socially rented a bit less but still significant. Properties are predominantly in the flats/maisonettes/apartments category (over 90 percent of the households). The median age was 33. Being in the inner city, the majority of residents do not own a car or van.[25]
Religion
The principal church in Kilburn is St Augustine's, sometimes referred to as "The Cathedral of North London"; the area is also served by St Mark's parish church, Hamilton Terrace[26] and by St Saviour's Church, Warwick Avenue, a building constructed in 1972–1976 in a "modern" style. The latter building was referred to by some local residents as "the God Box".[27] Between 1870 and 1906, the incumbent at St Mark's was Robinson Duckworth.[28]
Enrica Soma (1929–1969), Italian-American socialite and ballerina, one-time wife of John Huston and mother of Anjelica Huston, moved there with her children in 1962 after separating from her husband.[64]
Ruth Rendell (1930–2015), Baroness Rendell of Babergh, the English crime novelist, lived in the area.[65]
Mohammed Emwazi (1988–2015), alleged executioner for Islamic State known as "Jihadi John", attended St Mary Magdalene Church of England Primary School in Maida Vale.[84]
^Minutes of Paddington Borough Council meeting of 5 October 1909 (page 646 for 1909), "Notices for Erection of New Buildings [in 1910]" includes No. 2,135: "A new block of flats.. on the west side of Portsdown Road [renamed Randolph Avenue in 1939] to be the third building from Carlton Vale and on the site between No. 223 Portsdown Road and Carlton Mansions."
^Read, Michael (23 September 2004). "Toole, John Lawrence (1830–1906)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
^"Coborn, Charles, (Colin Whitton McCallum), (4 August 1852 – 23 November 1945), member of Variety profession and star comedian since 1879". Who's Who & Who Was Who. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u223903.
^Rees, Brian (1986). A Musical Peacemaker; The Life and Work of Sir Edward German. Abbotsbrook, UK: The Kensal Press. ISBN978-0-946041497.
^"Walker, Alexander, (22 March 1930 – 15 July 2003), Film Critic, London Evening Standard, since 1960". Who's Who & Who Was Who. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u38534.
